High school grad left out of yearbook for wearing tuxedo in her photo

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SPRINGVILLE, Ala. — Alabama high school senior Holley Gerelds says her photo wasn’t included in her yearbook after she wore a tuxedo for the portrait.

Gerelds told CNN affiliate WVTM that the photographer provided by the school allowed her to take the picture in her tux but when the Springville High School yearbook was published her photo was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, she was in the “not pictured” section, the student told WVTM.

She said the option usually given to girls is to wear a drape while boys are supposed to wear a tuxedo.

She doesn’t feel comfortable in feminine clothing, Gerelds said.

But when Gerelds put on the tuxedo, she felt like if fit her. “I felt like this is right, like this is what I’m supposed to do,” Gerelds told WVTM.

She said she wasn’t surprised that her photo wasn’t included because she’s not what people expect her to be.

Gerelds is disappointed because she thinks her photo will not be featured in the hallway, as is tradition. “I felt like they’re kind of erasing me from it because I’m not in this and I’m not going to be posted on the hallway for years and years to come.”

St. Clair County School Superintendent Mike Howard released a statement Friday afternoon saying the district is in the process of reevaluating the guidelines for senior portraits. He said he was unable to comment on specific student matters, according to WVTM.

Howard said the school will be reprinting a page of the recent yearbook to correct misspelling of a student’s name and to include all students, regardless of their wardrobe, the affiliate said.